Episode 5519: Clayton Fails Before The Senate; What To Expect Tomorrow Night

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Bannon`s War Room 55 min 3 speakers 5 chapters transcribed 2 months ago

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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Why did Jay Clayton face criticism during his Senate hearing?

Unknown 0:00

I'm very disappointed in a number of Mr. Clayton's answers. It's not in any way reflective of the person that I've worked with over the years. But I worry that there seems to be this

Stephen K. Bannon 0:24

The criteria that this administration is putting out, no one who's put up for any position can tell the truth about the 2020 election.

Unknown 0:35

That's deeply unsettled. The understanding that Jay Clayton could actually pick up a number of Democratic votes. You have to remember. He'll be taking the reins from Bill Pulte, who Democrats said had zero experience, was completely unfit for the job. Jay Clayton, previously led SDNY, previously led the SEC. They saw him as a formidable candidate. But that all changed today as he was questioned about the results of the 2020 election and whether or not he could say Joe Biden was the certified winner versus the actual winner. Can you tell me why Joe Biden was certified as the winner of the 2020 election?

Stephen K. Bannon 1:15

I really I'm going back to my constitutional law here, but I don't want to continue to have a debate about this. But I believe he had the most electoral votes.

Unknown 1:26

And this isn't just a litmus test for any old cabinet nominee. It's for somebody who is going to be able to oversee some elections, including the November midterm elections. When Bill Pulte was first appointed acting director of national intelligence, David Rhode and I, we dug into this. A lot of Democrats said. They were concerned that whoever is overseeing the intelligence community could cast doubt on the results of the midterm elections if Republicans lose. They pointed to the fact that Tulsi Gabbard, the predecessor in this role, she had backed President Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen. She was part of that FBI raid at Fulton County, Georgia, that took some voting records. So this has been an acute concern for Democrats when talking about this important role of director of national intelligence.

Unknown 2:08

And to the point you made before, Katie, Democrats saw Jay Clayton as somebody who they could actually support. But I was talking to one Democratic senator after the hearing who said they thought he lost some of that Democratic support today with this line of questioning about the 2020 election.

Stephen K. Bannon 2:22

I mean, I think it was fascinating on a couple of levels. One, he did try to distance himself a little bit at times from Trump. He was asked about impeaching judges, something that Trump has talked about. And he disavowed that. He was asked about whether the president could run for reelection in 2028, something that he's kind of teased out there, maybe as a troll to his adversary, something he thought he might do despite the Constitution. And Blanche made clear, no, he didn't think that was legal. But broadly speaking, he was on board. And obviously he was trying to appeal to at this point to an audience of two, Tom Tillis and John Cornyn. It seems like maybe he did succeed with Tom Tillis, who told him at the end of the hearing that he did a, quote, great job.

Stephen K. Bannon 3:00

But John Cornyn obviously will be the one who all eyes are on now from now on at this point. If John Cornyn says no, this is a nomination that it's hard to see how it advances out of the committee because they lost the vote of Lindsey Graham when he passed away last weekend. So John Cornyn, you know, is a fascinating figure to watch. He's not a rebel. He's not a maverick. He's not, you know, a John McCain who goes onto the floor and gives a thumbs down in a very dramatic way. It's not his way. But he did lose that primary after Trump endorsed his opponent, Ken Paxton. He has nothing to lose, arguably, at this point. And he does seem genuinely offended by this agreement that gives Trump, you know, audit-free, you know—

Stephen K. Bannon 3:41

access to all the money he would have had to pay in back taxes. By the way, my colleagues reported that could be $100 million or more given interest. That's a personal benefit to the president of the United States. So that's what John Cornyn is thinking about. All eyes are going to be on him going forward. I just want to say this.